Director Michael Haneke, right, says he wrote the script of "Amour" for actor Jean-Louis Trintignant.

Director Michael Haneke, right, says he wrote the script of "Amour" for actor Jean-Louis Trintignant.

Photo: Sony Pictures Classics

Personal experience draws writer-director to 'Amour'

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Toronto - It is a good bet that on Feb. 24 the French drama "Amour" will win an Oscar as best foreign language picture. But there's also the intriguing prospect that "Amour," which picked up the Golden Globe for best foreign language film on Sunday, could wind up taking home several Academy Awards, with nominations in the best picture, actress (Emmanuelle Riva), director and original screenplay (both Michael Haneke) categories.

The accolades started in May when "Amour" won the Palme d'Or at Cannes. Such acclaim is in a way unexpected because the film is a draining experience. It tells the story of a loving couple married 50 years and the impact on their relationship when the wife (Riva) has a series of debilitating strokes.

Some people have to look away at parts. But no one who sees it is likely to forget it.

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"Amour" was written and directed by esteemed Austrian director Haneke, whose other equally unforgettable films include "The Piano Teacher," "Caché" and "The White Ribbon" (also a Palme d'Or winner, putting him in the company of only six other directors to win the prestigious prize twice).

When "Amour" played at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, Haneke, 70, sat down to talk about his film. A white beard and mop of white hair soften his angular features in the same way that a ready laugh softens his sometimes harsh opinions.

He spoke in his native German, using an interpreter, though his English was good enough that he often answered a question without waiting for a translation.

Q: What drew you to this subject?

A: Like all of us, I was involved in a similar case - this in my own family, where I was obliged to look upon the suffering of someone I loved very much. It was an extremely bitter situation for me, and it led me to think about the situation and write a script about it.

A: My dear, I don't know what they think. I never make my films in agreement or in opposition to Hollywood. I do what interests me.

Q: For the leads, you cast Jean-Louis Trintignant, whom people will remember from "A Man and a Woman" in 1966; and Emmanuelle Riva, who starred in "Hiroshima, mon amour" in 1959. Why did you choose them?

A: I wrote the script for Jean-Louis. However, I didn't know whether he would say yes or no. He saw "The White Ribbon" and was so enthusiastic about it that he immediately said yes to my project, even though he hadn't acted onscreen in 14 years. For Emmanuelle, I hadn't seen her in 50 years but was very enthusiastic about her. I simply did a normal casting of actresses within the right age, and she was by far the best.

Q: What was it about Trintignant that made you write the script for him?

A: First of all, I have always wanted to work with Jean-Louis. There were two actors I had as favorites as a young man. For American film, it was Marlon Brando, and for European film, it was Jean-Louis Trintignant. Jean-Louis always has a secret in him. It is hard to describe, but he always conveys more than he is actually doing. And he has a great human warmth that was so important for the part. It would have been inconceivable for me to make the film with anybody else. There are great actors within the same age, but none has his radiance.

Q: Was it a hard shoot?

A: I find every film difficult. When I arrive on set, I am shaking with anxiety over whether I manage to get what I am looking for that day. For the actors, then, it would be a physical challenge as well as a psychological. Physically it was very taxing for them to do multiple takes at a time, but at the same time the atmosphere on set was very relaxed. There was never a moment of disagreement.

Jean-Louis broke his hand during shooting, so that was another physical difficulty. It was so ironic and so frustrating in that he was working with a physiotherapist, and during physiotherapy, he broke his hand. That made it difficult. We had to modify certain scenes.

Q: The couple's apartment is amazing. Was the set modeled on an actual apartment?

A: Yes, the apartment is very similar to the one where my mother and stepfather lived in Vienna. Except that the film is set in France, so we had to adapt the furniture so it would be French. But the bookshelves are pretty much the same.

Q: I don't want to give anything away, but you get an amazing performance from a pigeon. How did you do it?

A: Well, it wasn't just by accident. We had trained pigeons and pigeon trainers with them. We put grains of corn down on the ground in the direction we wanted the pigeon to go. They didn't always follow our directions. It was very tiring for Jean-Louis. We had several pigeons on the shoot. But Jean-Louis you couldn't replace.

Q: Some of your films use graphic violence, but you always make a distinction between the way you portray it and the way a Hollywood filmmaker such as Quentin Tarantino might. What is that difference?

A: In the U.S., cinema violence is something that is attractive, something that appeals to the audience. It is presented as good for consumption. Whereas I think in reality that violence is something not so attractive. For that reason, I am looking to make realistic films to show that violence in real life is something that is quite unpleasant. U.S. spectators are shocked or surprised by my films because they are used to films that convey violence as appealing. I hope that they are unsettled by the way that I represent it.

Q: You made a movie in Hollywood only once, in 2007. It was a shot-by-shot remake of your 1997 film "Funny Games." What was that experience like?

A: I was very happy with what the actors gave but less happy with shooting conditions. In Austria, I was able to shoot the film comfortably in six weeks. In the United States, with huge crews and inflated means of production, even eight weeks wasn't enough.